. >> they have found all sorts of thing in hagel's past. he was once a republican. >> my new book "killing jesus." >> he's going to be super disappointed when he finds out there's already a book about that. >>> welcome to "cbs this morning." the middle of the country from texas to wisconsin is digging out from a powerful storm. it is causing serious problems in minnesota this morning, and now the snow is heading for the great lakes. >> the storm has dumped more than a foot and a half in some areas. snow, wind, and ice are blamed for at least two deaths. dean reynolds is just north of chicago. dean, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, norah. the snow has tapered off after dropping 3 or 4 inches of snow, but that was more than enough to create plenty of problems. as the wintry storm blew across illinois, its impact was painfully easy to describe. >> it's freezing and the wind is terrible. >> reporter: overnight traffic crawled to a near standstill here as the snow began to fall stranding some cars. it's part of the same massive system th